Grannie,
I just bought a JUKI HZL F600. It has many of the features the more expensive Brother and Janome have at half the price. I've only used it twice.....waiting to take the free lessons that came with it.....but so far I am impressed with the quiet motor, and it's ability to go over different thicknesses w/o skipping stitches. It doesn't have the fancy embroidery stitches tho, only basic ones. Just another possibility for you.
Leslie